Chapter 126: Ten Hag: Villarreal Still Owes Utrecht 3 Million

"It should be the left foot. If not the left foot, then it's the right foot. Hmm, maybe the right foot."

After the Europa League match ended, the video clip of Tang Ye accepting a reporter's interview immediately went viral in the football world.

There were two highlights to this video.

First was what Tang Ye said; the reporter asked Tang Ye about his preferred foot multiple times, but Tang Ye's answers were always strange, directly trapping the reporter.

Then there was Tang Ye's expression.

Look at Tang Ye's expression, that expression of complete confusion.

Was he himself also troubled by figuring out his preferred foot?

【Hahaha, so what exactly did Mengge say?】

【GGBond can say whatever he wants!】

【Suddenly wanting to switch feet, it has to be our Tang Tang Qiuwang.】

【Really, if someone else said this, I would only think they were showing off, but since Tang Ye said it, I really need to think about it carefully.】

【I saw Tang Ye dribbling with his right foot, but sometimes when pushing forward with the ball, he used his left foot. Are both his feet the same?】

【I don't get it, brothers. Anyway, we just need to know that Tang Tang Qiuwang is a true god.】

【Tang Ye: My left foot is accurate, but I'm used to using my right foot.】

Tang Ye's popularity was a bit exaggerated; what happened in Spain immediately spread to England via YouTube and Twitter.

Manchester United had just lost 0:1 to PSV Eindhoven, and after the match, the Red Devils' head coach Ten Hag was accepting a reporter's interview.

"In last season's Eredivisie, you led Utrecht against PSV Eindhoven with a record of 1 loss and 2 wins. You lost only 1 of the 3 matches, but after taking over Manchester United, you lost your first match against PSV Eindhoven, and you were shut out."

It seemed because Ten Hag's strength was too great, the local British reporters didn't hold back with him at all.

The very first question made Ten Hag somewhat unhappy, but for Ten Hag, handling this was no difficulty whatsoever.

"As you said, 2 wins and 1 loss in 3 matches. Utrecht lost one last season, and Manchester United lost one this season. I think Manchester United and Utrecht are quite similar. Referring to Utrecht's precedent, today should be the last time we lose to PSV Eindhoven."

Ten Hag held up one finger: "0:1, but this is obviously the wrong score. The opponent had better luck than us. They sprinkled a lot of water on their home pitch. This is a tactic weak teams like to use against strong teams. I regret that they succeeded. They deprived our players of many shooting opportunities. Otherwise, the score of this match should have been 2:1, or even 3:0. Those are all possible."

Click-clack!

Click!

Although the team lost, it didn't matter.

Ten Hag told the reporters that a football match consists of far more than just the 90 minutes of regular time plus 4 minutes of stoppage time.

There is also the post-match interview!

As the only coach in today's football world with shooting ability, Ten Hag would absolutely never panic when facing a deficit in the score.

"Well..."

The reporters below were somewhat stunned by being shut down.

The next reporter to stand up directly gave up asking about the match: "Can you talk about Tang? Just half an hour ago, Villarreal defeated Zurich 3:1. Tang scored 1 goal and provided 1 assist."

"Oh, I know this news. I said before that Tang is a very good player."

"But you said before he couldn't adapt to La Liga..."

"That was a Europa League match."

Ten Hag had a way with details: "I just said Tang would find it hard to adapt to La Liga's style of play, but he can still succeed in the Europa League. I saw some match clips after the game ended. Tang was almost leading the team to victory, which made me very happy. I saw Tang using many things I taught him."

Tang Ye led Villarreal.

Ten Hag led Tang Ye.

So Villarreal's victory is inseparable from Ten Hag.

Manchester United lost today's match, losing 1 goal difference.

But Villarreal has 2 goal differences. Calculated together, Ten Hag actually made a net profit of one.

"Regarding the left-foot ability Tang displayed, what do you have to say? He didn't show this strength last season. May I ask why?"

"Because the pace of Eredivisie matches doesn't really require two-footed play."

Ten Hag was also patient, explaining bit by bit to the reporters: "Tang has that ability. I know this."

"To be honest, I often arranged extra training plans for Tang after evening training ended. Those plans were related to his non-preferred foot."

Hearing Ten Hag start talking about Tang Ye's non-preferred foot ability, the reporters below suddenly became serious.

During Ten Hag's Utrecht period, he specifically stayed behind after training to give Tang Ye extra training on his non-preferred foot ability.

This is absolutely major news!

"I just made a bit of a mistake."

Ten Hag lowered his head, a rare occurrence, and the reporters below, their faces full of surprise, quickly turned their cameras over.

Click!

Click-clack!

Ten Hag admitted his mistake!

Just not knowing what the mistake was?

"When Villarreal applied to borrow Tang, I forgot to mention this preferred foot matter."

"They paid a 3 million Euro borrowing fee to borrow Tang for one year, but that was actually the fee for one foot. The other foot still requires paying another 3 million Euro."

Ten Hag held up three fingers: "Villarreal actually still owes Utrecht 3 million Euros. This fee needs to be repaid."

Huh?

Check Dongqiu Di post-match interview: Still owe Utrecht 3 million? Detailed analysis of Ten Hag's interview statements' logic. 3 million Euro is just the borrowing fee for one foot.

As expected, the content of Ten Hag's post-match interview was once again pushed to the trending list by Chinese fans on Check Dongqiu Di.

Fans seriously doubted the authenticity of Ten Hag's words.

Hmm...

Is it even possible that Ten Hag doesn't know about Tang Ye's left foot at all?

Most fans' attention was focused on Tang Ye's left and right feet, but a small number of sharp-eyed fans noticed a sentence written in the news report.

【To be honest, I often arrange extra training plans for Tang after evening sessions end; those plans are related to his non-dominant foot.】

At first glance, this is nothing more than a hardworking head coach helping a hardworking talented player; there's nothing wrong with it, and Chinese fans as well as Villarreal fans should even be grateful to Ten Hag.

But thinking about it carefully...

Damn it, Tang Ye isn't allowed to work after 10 PM!

The Chinese fans who discovered this issue didn't say much; at most, they just used that sentence to joke around in the comments section, because like Yellow Submarine, they were all beneficiaries of Tang Ye's extra training.

But there are always fans who are not beneficiaries!

PSV Eindhoven Fans Association: Regarding Erik Ten Hag's violation of rules by imposing extra training on underage players within the team during his tenure at Utrecht, the PSV Eindhoven Fans Association will file a complaint with the Dutch Football Association.

Front-page headline of the "Utrecht Evening Post"—What happened? Seven Feyenoord fans are protesting in front of the Utrecht police station; reportedly, they hope the local police will reopen the investigation into Ten Hag.

"Erik is not a good person!" a Feyenoord fan said thus after being restrained by local police.

Things had escalated somewhat; the commotion from the fans reached the ears of the club's upper management, among whom the PSV Eindhoven executives listened most intently.

This had nothing to do with the humiliation of being suppressed by Utrecht last season; PSV Eindhoven is forever a righteous and loyal follower.

Ten Hag needs to be punished!

Just 36 hours after Ten Hag's interview, the Utrecht Police Department issued an announcement declaring the reopening of the investigation into former Utrecht head coach Erik Ten Hag; local police would verify the authenticity of rumors that Ten Hag conducted illegal extra training on Tang.

【Hahaha, what's going on, something happened to Saint Ten】【Ten Hag talked big and said the wrong thing】

【I told you so, once he leaves Tang Ye, Saint Ten is bound to run into trouble, although the trouble I guessed is a bit different from what actually happened...】

【Wait, bro, is my Saint Ten going to jail again?】

Fans both domestic and abroad were discussing it; Ten Hag's already high popularity was stirred up another notch.

However, the efficiency of the Dutch police was indeed somewhat lacking; fans from various countries were camping out on the message boards of the police station website, yet there was still no news.

Arriving at the afternoon of September 17, the La Liga Round 4 match between Yellow Submarine and Real Sociedad was about to begin.

"Hmm, that's basically the tactical setup; alright, let me first announce the starting lineup for tomorrow's match."

Escriba held his notebook, standing in the middle of the training ground.

The surrounding players were extremely nervous.

!

For players who couldn't make the field or those guaranteed to start, the head coach announcing the starting lineup and match roster wasn't something to worry about, because they already knew the answers in their hearts.

But for players stuck in the middle, such as Castillejo, Bacambu, and Cheryshev, the situation was rather awkward.

And of course, there was also Tang Ye!

Escriba looked left and right, finally spotting Tang Ye behind him: "Oh, you're here; you look in good form?"

Among the gathered players, Tang Ye's posture was the most relaxed; he stood with one foot forward and one back, chewing gum in his mouth.

"Of course, I feel today's training was very fruitful; I've become stronger again."

Tang Ye patted his thigh, making a motion as if to pass a ball to Escriva standing before him.

"That's good; you're starting tomorrow, so go to bed early tonight."

"No problem, Mr. Ferran."

Soon, both the starting lineup and the substitute list were arranged; Escriba dismissed the team early, hoping these players could rest well before the match.

"Ferran!"

Assistant coach Marti suddenly walked over: "You announced Tang as a starter first; isn't that a problem?"

"What problem is there? I never care about order; I can start announcing from the forwards, or from the goalkeeper, or even from the midfielders; any of those works."

Escriba tossed his notebook and mobile phone onto a chair on the training ground, then picked up a bottle of mineral water and took a large gulp.

The sun today is truly fierce!

"No, no, no, I mean, wouldn't it be bad to always have Tang start every time?"

The starting lineup is usually determined jointly by the head coach and assistant coach, but when confirming tomorrow's starting lineup, Escriba did not consult Marti.

If Escriba had mentioned beforehand that he wanted Tang Ye to start, Marti would definitely have stepped forward to stop him!

"What's bad about that? I know what you're worried about; rest assured, although having Tang start might make the match a bit thrilling, I think as long as we can win, it's no problem."

"Ferran!"

From afar, Bruno shouted to Escriba: "I can't find the key to the physiotherapy room; is it with you?"

"It's right there on that box nearby, just look... never mind, I'll come over!"

Escriba ran toward the physiotherapy room, leaving Marti standing in place, somewhat awkward.

Ding ding ding!

Ding ding!

A phone rang, but it wasn't Marti's phone; it was the mobile phone Escriba had just left on the chair.

Curiosity drove Marti to lean his head over to take a look.

Oh?

Marti widened his eyes.

He remembered Escriba should have unfollowed these newspapers previously.

Regardless, let's take a look first.

【Highest Valued Player in the Team Yet Unable to Secure a Stable Starting Spot: Is Yellow Submarine Head Coach Escriba Suspected of Being a Mole Arranged by a Same-League Team?】

【In-Depth Analysis: Why Having Tang Sit on the Bench Is the Wrong Choice; Escriva Should Not Be Obsessed with His Possession-Based System】

"According to an investigation by the Spanish newspaper Sun, 62% of Yellow Submarine fans believe Escrivá is not a qualified coach."

"..."

Fine.

Martí took a deep breath.

Let's put tactical matters aside for now.

He was not Escrivá; he could not comprehend the pressure Escrivá was currently enduring!

After leaving the training base in the afternoon, Tang Ye and Rodrigo took a taxi to a local bicycle shop, where Rodrigo helped Tang Ye pick out a Trek road bike.

Tang Ye had not yet learned to drive a car, and in the relatively small city of Villarreal, a bicycle was an excellent mode of transportation.

He only needed to park the bicycle in the parking lot on the first floor of the apartment building!

"OK!"

After finding a prime spot in the parking lot to secure his bicycle, Tang Ye clapped his hands. "Perfect. Time to go home and rest."

Rodrigo looked at the gleaming bicycle before him. "Maybe you should still take it upstairs. The elevator is large enough to fit a bicycle."

"Why take it upstairs? Do you want to cuddle it while you sleep? Haha!"

"No, no. I mean it might get stolen."

"How is that possible? You're overthinking it."

Without turning his head, Tang Ye walked toward the elevator entrance. "It's already 2016. Who still steals things? It's just a bicycle, not gold."

The elevator doors had already opened when Rodrigo hurriedly ran up. "The problem is, your bicycle isn't much cheaper than gold, is it?"

Slap!

Tang Ye pressed the button for the 9th floor. "Don't worry. It won't get stolen."

Returning to the dormitory that evening, Tang Ye changed his clothes and then sat down at his computer desk.

While waiting for the Hearthstone interface to fully load, Tang Ye first checked his system.

Account Balance: 287 points!

Although Tang Ye had been buying 【Azar Tata Sauce Burgers】 somewhat frequently since arriving in Spain, thanks to the generous reward systems of La Liga and the Europa League, he had still managed to save quite a bit of money.

Hiss—

He had forgotten how much it cost to unlock items last time.

Better check first!

【Use 320 Counterattack Points to unlock purchasing permissions for new items?】

【Insufficient Balance】

Fine. He would need to save up a bit more money first.

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Kneeling in gratitude!

(End of Chapter)